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The August 30 issue of Scotland's Daily Record shares the following story, which illustrates how faulty hermeneutics can cost one more than a bad grade in class: "A priest has died after trying to demonstrate how Jesus walked on water. "Evangelist preacher Franck Kabele, 35, told his congregation he could repeat the biblical miracle. But he drowned after walking out to sea from a beach in the capital Libreville in Gabon, west Africa. "One eyewitness said: 'He told churchgoers he'd had a revelation that if he had enough faith, he could walk on water like Jesus. He took his congregation to the beach saying he would walk across the Komo estuary, which takes 20 minutes by boat. "He walked into the water, which soon passed over his head and he never came back." I think there's a sermon in there somewhere. Michael
Duduit, Editor Click here to visit "I Was Just Thinking" (Michael’s blog) for insights and observations about faith and culture issues. Recent topics: You Don't Snooze, You Lose; Bibles to Beijing; Five Years Later.
Have preachers lost confidence in words? In his Aug. 29 online commentary, R. Albert Mohler discusses several concerns about the state of preaching today. The first issue he discusses is the loss of confidence in the power of the word: "Contemporary Americans are surrounded by more words than any previous generation in human history. We are bombarded with words delivered to us in every conceivable form -- sung, broadcast, electrified, printed, and spoken. Words have been digitalized, commercialized, and subjected to postmodern linguistic theories. "Taken together, all this amounts to a significant loss of confidence in the word as written and spoken. Several years ago, the photographer Richard Avedon declared that 'images are fast replacing words as our primary language.' This certainly appears to be the case. In The Rise of the Image, the Fall of the Word, author Mitchell Stephens of New York University argues that 'the image is replacing the word as the predominant means of mental transport.' "Since preaching is itself a form of 'mental transport,' any loss of confidence in the word leads to a loss of confidence in preaching. Ultimately, preaching will cease to be Christian preaching if the preacher loses confidence in the authority of the Bible as the Word of God and in the power of the spoken word to communicate the saving and transforming message of the Bible. The preacher must stand up and speak with confidence, declaring the Word of God to a congregation that is bombarded with hundreds of thousands of words each week, many of them delivered with a soundtrack or moving images. The audacious claim of Christian preaching is that the faithful declaration of the Word of God, spoken through the preacher's voice, is even more powerful than anything music or image can deliver." (Click here to read the full commentary.) http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-08-28
Signs
of optimism for church In a recent commentary, LifeWay president and church growth author Thom Rainer writes, "I am deeply concerned about the American church. Evangelistic effectiveness is waning. Biblical illiteracy is growing. And many of the 400,000 churches in the United States seem to be caught up in activities with little purpose or meaning. "You may therefore be surprised that I would even begin to suggest that the American church has reasons for optimism. . . . I cannot for one moment claim that significant negative trends are reversing. To the contrary, the overall path of churches in our nation is not good. But what compels me to write about reasons for hope are the exceptions we are discovering in our research. Some of the stories are just too good to neglect. Please allow me to categorize these exceptions as three signs for optimism. "The first sign is that we are finding more churches that are focusing on conversion growth rather than total growth. For years the most heralded churches in America have been those that are growing the fastest numerically. But, upon closer examination, these churches are often growing at the expense of others. This transfer growth, rather than conversion growth, is the source of the large numbers reported by the churches. Still, we are seeing hopeful signs as many church leaders are asking serious questions about their methodologies and theology. They have a growing desire to impact the world of the lost and the unchurched rather than gaining members from other churches." Another positive sign, Rainer says, is "a growing desire for more significant and deeper teaching and preaching. I was recently visiting a church where the pastor of 15 years lamented that many members sitting under his preaching for his entire tenure were still, by their own admission, woefully ignorant of biblical doctrine. I commend him for stating his very clear decision to change the ministry of the church and his preaching ministry so that the riches of God's Word would be consistently taught and preached." (Click here to read the full column.) http://www.bpnews.net/bpcolumn.asp?ID=2360
Fall is vital time for ministry In a recent copy of his Creative Leader newsletter, Ed Young Jr. said, "Fall is ripe with opportunities. To make the most of them, we need to be healthy and ready to take turf for the kingdom of God. This is a time of year where we need to focus our greatest offensive energy into planning and preparation." Among the suggestions he offers, based on his experience at Fellowship Church: Plan a big series. This is when to debut an irresistible message series. Pray to choose the topic your church needs most, then put forth some major creative teamwork to build an exciting series. Some of our recent fall series include Authority Issues, Love Affair, Who's Kidding Who, and Questions. Make changes now. People are in the mood for a fresh start in the fall, so it's a great time to launch new programs, transform environments, and add or change service times. And if you don't change it, make it stronger. Freshen up your facilities and make sure your existing programs are at their best. (For more information or to sign up for Ed's newsletter, go to www.creativepastors.com)
Register for 'Preaching Truth' conference in your area A new series of Preaching Truth in a Whatever World events are planned for Fall 2006. These one-day preaching conferences explore strategies for effective biblical preaching in a postmodern world. Led by Preaching editor Michael Duduit and a variety of guest speakers, these conferences offer a valuable time of insight and refreshment for those who proclaim the Word. Preaching Truth conferences will be held in the following cities: Shreveport,
LA -- Sept 14 For more information or to register, call (800) 288-9673, or visit the website at www.preaching.com/truth
ILLUSTRATION: Pornography A recent article in the Aug/Sept issue of Second Edition (the magazine of Second Baptist Church, Houston) points out that, "Internet pornography generates $12 billion dollars in annual revenue. This is larger than the combined revenue of ABC, NBC, and CBS. It's larger than the combined annual revenue of the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball. "Internet pornography is big business. Every week more than 2,500 new pornographic websites come online. Sadly, the largest group of viewers is between ages 12 and 17 and the average age of a first exposure to Internet pornography is 11."
ILLUSTRATION: Stewardship, Tithing Leighton Farrell was the minister of Highland Park Church in Dallas for many years. He tells of a man in the church who once made a covenant with a former pastor to tithe ten percent of their income every year. They were both young and neither of them had much money. But things changed. The layman tithed $1,000 the year he earned $10,000. He tithed $10,000 the year he earned $100,000, and he tithed $100,000 the year he earned one million. But the year he earned six million dollars he just could not bring himself to write out that check for $600,000 to the Church. He telephoned the minister, long since having moved to another church, and asked to see him. Walking into the pastor's office the man begged to be let out of the covenant, saying, "This tithing business has to stop. It was fine when my tithe was one thousand dollars, but I just cannot afford $600,000. You've got to do something, Reverend!" The pastor knelt on the floor and prayed silently for a long time. Eventually the man said, "What are you doing? Are you praying that God will let me out of the covenant to tithe?" "No," said the minister. "I am praying for God to reduce your income back to the level where $1,000 will be your tithe!" (from sermon by Bob Younts, eSermons.com)
ILLUSTRATION: Wisdom An angel appears at a faculty meeting and tells the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty. Without hesitating, the dean selects infinite wisdom. "Done!"
says the angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of
lightning. Now, all heads turn toward the dean, who sits surrounded
by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispers,
"Say something."
ILLUSTRATION: Sermons, Preaching The minister's sermon on this particular Sunday was considerably longer than normal. However, it was so well prepared and inspiring that he just knew it would be a big hit with the congregation. At the end of the service he stood shaking hands with parishioners as they exited. One man paused and said, "Pastor, your sermon was so invigorating and inspiring and refreshing." As the minister broke out in a big smile, the man completed his comment by adding, "Why I felt like a new man when I woke up!"
ILLUSTRATION: Baptism "Real and effective fasting by a preacher is not fasting from food, but fasting from eloquence, from impressive diction, and from everything else that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God -- '. . . as though God were pleading through us. . . .' (2 Cor. 5:20) He is there to present the Gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get close to Jesus Christ." (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest)
Mark your calendar for the International Congress on Preaching The third International Congress on Preaching will be April 17-19, 2007, in Cambridge, England. The theme is "For Such a Time as This: Preaching Truth in an Age of Idolatry." In this historic setting you'll enjoy addresses, sermons and practical workshops led by a remarkable team of preachers and teachers, including David
Jeremiah and many more! Registration is now available at a big discount -- register by October 1 and save $100 off the normal rate. (Enough to buy a bunch of fish and chips!) To learn more visit the website at www.preaching.com/icop or call (800) 288-9673 (outside the US, call 615-312-4245.)
"When the hands are folded, a mighty onslaught against a world of chaos is begun." (Karl Barth)
From the sponsor of this week's edition: Dynamic Evangelism Course in a Box! Evangelism 101 Self-contained Academic Course Ready for Use
To learn more about the course visit www.evantell.org/preachingacademic -- a free promotional DVD is also available.
ILLUSTRATION: Health George had died. His lawyer is standing before the family and reads out his Last Will and Testament. "To my dear wife Mary, I leave the house, 50 acres of land, and 1 million dollars. To my son Barry, I leave my Big Lexus and the Jaguar. To my daughter Suzy, I leave my yacht and $250,000. To my brother-in-law Jeff, who always insisted that health is better than wealth, I leave my sun lamp."
"In the calmness of the morning before the mind is heated and wearied by the turmoil of the day, you have a season of unusual importance for communion with God and with yourself." (William Wilberforce)
Actual label instructions on consumer goods: On
Sears hairdryer: On
a bag of Fritos: On
a bar of Dove soap: On
some Swann frozen dinners: On
Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on box bottom): On
Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding: On
packaging for a Rowenta iron: On
Boot's Children's cough medicine: On
Nytol sleep aid: On
a string of Chinese-made Christmas lights: On
a Japanese food processor: On
Sainsbury's peanuts: On
an American Airlines packet of nuts: On
a child's Superman costume: (from the Humorama newsletter)
And finally . . . At last the hedgehogs will be safe. According to an Aug. 31 Reuters story, burger giant McDonalds has given in to demands of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society to reduce the size of the opening in its McFlurry container. (For those out-of-touch citizens who don't frequent McDonalds, a McFlurry is an ice cream treat with candy mixed in.) It seems that some British consumers have been tossing their McFlurry containers on the side of the road, where innocent hedgehogs have been putting their heads in to get a taste of the sweet treat. The container opening is just wide enough for them to get in, but then they get trapped and eventually die of starvation (apparently when the McFlurry remnants run out). So -- being the animal-lovers they are -- the folks at McDonalds have reduced the size of the opening on top of the McFlurry container, keeping hedgehogs from sticking their heads in and getting caught. Except for really small hedgehogs, of course. "This is excellent, it is long overdue news," said Fay Vass, chief executive of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. It will be even better news when they make the container opening small enough that I can't get in.
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